Welcome to my April 2017 Great and Powerful 2017 Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

Today, our final letter for our 2017 Challenge posts:  Z is for Menzies Street!  This has been a fun one this year – and I am looking forward to continuing my Welcome to James Bay posts on a regular (albeit not Daily!) basis. See you soon!!

Here is a Google map showing where Menzies Street is located in James Bay.

What I could find out about Menzies Street:

Menzies is one of the main streets in James Bay and stretches from Dallas Road all the way to the Inner Harbour at Belleville.  I had to showcase Menzies because of its status as our main street, and also because it’s the only street in James Bay with a “z” in it.

From http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/Neighbourhoods/jamesbayhistory.html:

“Another fashionable residential area was Menzies Street opposite the Birdcages and the south side of Belleville Street facing the harbour where a number of industrialists and sea captains chose to build. Their view of the harbour was unobstructed until about 1900, when the CPR decided to move its shipping terminal there from Wharf St. Fairview (demolished) on the corner of Menzies and Quebec Streets was best known as the home of Robert and Joan Dunsmuir before they built Craigdarroch Castle (1050 Joan Cr, Rockland). Starting in the late 1950s, Fairview and most of the houses along Belleville were replaced by motels, except on one block. ”

This was Fairview, long gone now (from http://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/fairview-at-southwest-corner-of-menzies-and-quebec-streets-robert-dunsmuirs-home-in-victoria-before-building-craigdarroch-castle)

I am ending the challenge with a street that does have a few heritage houses on it:

• 15 Menzies: http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Menzies15.html
• 29 Menzies (we wanted to buy this one awhile back): http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Menzies29.html
• 60 Menzies: http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Menzies60.html
• 401 Menzies (a cool-looking old carriage house): http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Menzies401.html
• 421 Menzies – The Drill Hall: http://www.victoriaheritagefoundation.ca/HReg/JamesB/Menzies421.html

Menzies Street is also home to many businesses (including coffee shops, a sushi place, liquor store, Chinese restaurant, yoga studio, etc.) as well as some new construction behind the Legislature. The parking lot between Kingston and Superior is home to the James Bay Community Market (http://www.jamesbaymarket.com/) on Saturdays between the beginning of May and the end of September.

Finally, at the end of Menzies at Belleville is where you will find the horses and carriages waiting to take you on a tour of James Bay or downtown Victoria.  Clop, clop, clop is a familiar sounds down our own street during tourist season!

Here are some pictures I took along Menzies Street.  I’m keeping this short as this has been a LONG post for a LONG street!

On the block before Dallas Road.

And, at the other end, down towards Belleville:

What else do you want to know about Menzies Street?  Ask away, and I will see what I can find out for you!

Thanks for visiting letter Z of my A to Z Challenge post of 2017.  You can find more I posts at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2017/04/atozchallenge-4-30-2017-letter-z.html.